Jessica Cunningham lashes out at Ferne McCann for bringing ‘shame’ on single parents
JESSICA Cunningham has slammed Ferne McCann for disparaging the single mother title.
The former Apprentice star - who has raised her three children on her own - said that she almost "spat out her tea" when she read that Ferne refused to be labelled as a single mum, warning that her words would have "offended many single mothers".
Jessica, 30, was referring to the ex TOWIE star's recent interview with OK! Magazine, which saw her open up about raising her newborn daughter Sunday alone.
She explained: "I don’t like the term single mum and I don’t want to be addressed as that because I don’t think you should be labelled.
'To me, I’m going to be a mum like anyone else, but just in a different situation. It shouldn’t define you."
Ferne has been forced to raise her tot alone after ending her relationship with her daughter's father, Arthur Collins, who has been convicted of an acid attack in a London nightclub.
But her words didn't bode well with Jessica, who wrote on her blog: "She probably thinks that the statement is empowering for women. But, after experiencing life as a single mum – I strongly disagree. The term single mum is something you can own."
However, Jessica insisted that she still had "a lot of respect, empathy, and support for Ferne".
She continued: "Through no fault of her own, she has had to make probably the hardest decision of her life choosing to become a single parent!
"But with that ‘label’, she will also have the chance to inspire others, who are in s***ty situations with their partners to be brave, to be bold and to do something about it.
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"Ferne is incredibly lucky to be in a position to be able to inspire others and let them know that being a single parent isn’t shameful – sometimes it’s the only option you have."
Jessica's candid post comes just days after she revealed that she had suffered a miscarriage just weeks after finding out that she was carrying her fourth child with boyfriend Alex.
The tragic loss of her child came at the end of a horrific year that included her daughter Poppy breaking her arm and her ex-boyfriend Alistair Eccles committing suicide in August.
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